#again major apologies

[scoups4lyfe]

Man sorry that I haven't been live-blogging y'all.

I've been off Ritalin for an entire month because of stupid insurance issues and it spiraled me really quickly into a dark pit of being able to do absolutely nothing unless caffeinated by 4 shots of espresso. And that's a hard feat for me to accomplish every single day when I have other things to do on top of that.

Hmmmmm,,,,

This lovely song has lyrics that pretty accurately describe my mental and physical state for the last month and a fkin half.

It's a miracle I got anything done tbh.

Good news: the insurance issues are over.

I took my first dose of Ritalin mere hours ago (along with 4 shots of espresso) and I feel capable and able to be human again LOL.

I plan to spend this weekend live-blogging but as always, I'm an unreliable narrator and we'll see as we go lmao.

[spocks-kaathyra]

thoughts about the Cardassian writing system

I've thinking about the Cardassian script as shown on screen and in beta canon and such and like. Is it just me or would it be very difficult to write by hand?? Like.

I traced some of this image for a recent drawing I did and like. The varying line thicknesses?? The little rectangular holes?? It's not at all intuitive to write by hand. Even if you imagine, like, a different writing implement—I suppose a chisel-tip pen would work better—it still seems like it wasn't meant to be handwritten. Which has a few possible explanations.

Like, maybe it's just a fancy font for computers, and handwritten text looks a little different. Times New Roman isn't very easily written by hand either, right? Maybe the line thickness differences are just decorative, and it's totally possible to convey the same orthographic information with the two line thicknesses of a chisel-tip pen, or with no variation in line thickness at all.

A more interesting explanation, though, and the one I thought of first, is that this writing system was never designed to be handwritten. This is a writing system developed in Cardassia's digital age. Maybe the original Cardassian script didn’t digitize well, so they invented a new one specifically for digital use? Like, when they invented coding, they realized that their writing system didn’t work very well for that purpose. I know next to nothing about coding, but I cannot imagine doing it using Chinese characters. So maybe they came up with a new writing system that worked well for that purpose, and when computer use became widespread, they stuck with it. 

Or maybe the script was invented for political reasons! Maybe Cardassia was already fairly technologically advanced when the Cardassian Union was formed, and, to reinforce a cohesive national identity, they developed a new standardized national writing system. Like, y'know, the First Emperor of Qin standardizing hanzi when he unified China, or that Korean king inventing hangul. Except that at this point in Cardassian history, all official records were digital and typing was a lot more common than handwriting, so the new script was designed to be typed and not written. Of course, this reform would be slower to reach the more rural parts of Cardassia, and even in a technologically advanced society, there are people who don't have access to that technology. But I imagine the government would be big on infrastructure and education, and would make sure all good Cardassian citizens become literate. And old regional scripts would stop being taught in schools and be phased out of digital use and all the kids would grow up learning the digital script.

Which is good for the totalitarian government! Imagine you can only write digitally. On computers. That the government can monitor. If you, like, write a physical letter and send it to someone, then it's possible for the contents to stay totally private. But if you send an email, it can be very easily intercepted. Especially if the government is controlling which computers can be manufactured and sold, and what software is in widespread use, etc. 

AND. Historical documents are now only readable for scholars. Remember that Korean king that invented hangul? Before him, Korea used to use Chinese characters too. And don't get me wrong, hangul is a genius writing system! It fits the Korean language so much better than Chinese characters did! It increased literacy at incredible rates! But by switching writing systems, they broke that historical link. The average literate Chinese person can read texts that are thousands of years old. The average literate Korean person can't. They'd have to specifically study that field, learn a whole new writing system. So with the new generation of Cardassian youths unable to read historical texts, it's much easier for the government to revise history. The primary source documents are in a script that most people can't read. You just trust the translation they teach you in school. In ASIT it's literally a crucial plot point that the Cardassian government revised history! Wouldn't it make it soooo much easier for them if only very few people can actually read the historical accounts of what happened.

I guess I am thinking of this like Chinese characters. Like, all the different Chinese "dialects" being written with hanzi, even though otherwise they could barely be considered the same language. And even non-Sinitic languages that historically adopted hanzi, like Japanese and Korean and Vietnamese. Which worked because hanzi is a logography—it encodes meaning, not sound, so the same word in different languages can be written the same. It didn’t work well! Nowadays, Japanese has made significant modifications and Korean has invented a new writing system entirely and Vietnamese has adapted a different foreign writing system, because while hanzi could write their languages, it didn’t do a very good job at it. But the Cardassian government probably cares more about assimilation and national unity than making things easier for speakers of minority languages. So, Cardassia used to have different cultures with different languages, like the Hebitians, and maybe instead of the Union forcing everyone to start speaking the same language, they just made everyone use the same writing system. Though that does seem less likely than them enforcing a standard language like the Federation does. Maybe they enforce a standard language, and invent the new writing system to increase literacy for people who are newly learning it.

And I can imagine it being a kind of purely digital language for some people? Like if you’re living on a colonized planet lightyears away from Cardassia Prime and you never have to speak Cardassian, but your computer’s interface is in Cardassian and if you go online then everyone there uses Cardassian. Like people irl who participate in the anglophone internet but don’t really use English in person because they don’t live in an anglophone country. Except if English were a logographic writing system that you could use to write your own language. And you can’t handwrite it, if for whatever reason you wanted to. Almost a similar idea to a liturgical language? Like, it’s only used in specific contexts and not really in daily life. In daily life you’d still speak your own language, and maybe even handwrite it when needed. I think old writing systems would survive even closer to the imperial core (does it make sense to call it that?), though the government would discourage it. I imagine there’d be a revival movement after the Fire, not only because of the cultural shift away from the old totalitarian Cardassia, but because people realize the importance of having a written communication system that doesn’t rely on everyone having a padd and electricity and wifi.

[miyuskye]

I found this scene in particular so odd and out of place in the new episode. Apart from the fact that Stolas has no right to be angry at Blitz for "not saving him" when Striker kidnapped him nor to be upset that he didn't tell him about Striker's attempt at shooting him. In Loo Loo Land he's perfectly capable of defending himself (even when he hired Blitz for protection!), why is he complaining that an imp, the lowest class on the hierarchy isn't protecting one of the highest?

In that scene Stolas accuses Blitz of not understanding "how much he cared about him", but has he forgotten that he was the one who couldn't stand up not to Asmodeous nor to the accusations of him "sleeping with an imp"?

This reaction shows the actual opposite of what he's telling Blitz he did.

I read that Stolas is supposedly also not aware of ~things~ but why is the narrative conveniently forgetting about his faults as well?

Onto the "apology tour" subject: I fail to understand why Blitz owes Stolas an apology. The only time he was shitty to him was actually in Ozzie's when he asked him on a (fake) date without telling him all the story. But they didn't talk about that not during that episode neither during Apology Tour. Is it because doing this would have forced the narrative to acknowledge that also Stolas was at fault during that episode?

All the other times they interacted (on and off screen, their chats don't really mean anything since it seems that's the way Blitz writes in general), Blitz was being good to him (not that he had any other choice, due to their society ranks and their deal).

To me, this looks like bad writing. But if someone has a different take, I'm happy to hear their interpretation.

[layton-heritage-posts]

(guy who's never played splatoon voice) are ya splatting, son?

In the grand fest straight up splatting it. And by it well let's just say. Nothing.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

what is your favorite thing about charles and your favorite thing about erik? separately, as in what you like most about their characters :]

a devious question this one is, my friend!!! it's hard enough for me to explain my thoughts cohesively, but having to pick ONE thing i particularly love is difficult. with characters like charles and erik, theres been so much done with their characters over the decades and so they have so many components to them that make them so interesting and fun to observe. BUT I TRY FOR YOU TODAY. under the cut i kinda ramble and the size of this text box makin me anxious

i think if i were to be simple and broad, what i enjoy most about charles is his determination to help others, even if he isn't really thanked and/or if people don't even like him. ofc, this isn't to say he hasn't done wrong- to be honest, the fact he does wrong/questionable things at times is another aspect of him i really enjoy, maybe because- broadly speaking- he's meant to be altruistic (intent vs outcome and all that). i don't know if that's super exciting to most people, but it is for me

as for erik, my reason for liking him is easier to explain tbh. To Be Simple And Broad, his progression from villain to antihero over the decades has been fun to observe (as much as i have so far anyhow) and analyze. i think to be a bit more specific, him using his rage and pain as justifications for his villainous actions is definitely what compels me the most: hurt people hurt and the sort, an idea i've always found interesting (something something vicious cycles and the like). yet now, he recognizes this wasn't really. A Just Thing To Do and is beginning to change that, which i enjoy

[lovers-instead]

WAKE UP S.S. ENDURANCE CREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

our time is finally coming in season 2!!!!

[whack-patty]

AWRIGHT HERE WE GO

at long last....the proper Sneep Snorp reference

I'm trying out Artfight for the first time ever this year!!! Ik im dead af here but there's some real cool people out here I wouldn't mind attacking if you're out on that battlefield with me :^)

My usr on Artfight is whackpattie , come say hi and watch me flounder around blindly while I figure it the frick out!!!

[writing-is-hard-af]

Studying for my Public Policy class and I cannot escape the hold West Wing has over me. I should not be getting fic-writing inspo from a political science textbook, yet here we are. How does a 25 year old show hold so much influence over my life?

[geneticdriftwood]

i’m having thoughts about batman vs green arrow, and how the central characters shape the stories their supporting casts are allowed

like, in batman comics, bruce’s story is about being permanently shaped by a grief he can never move on from (his parent’s deaths, and later jason’s death). the premise of batman, bruce’s unyielding dedication to his mission, requires that bruce always be living in the shadow of his formative trauma, always responding to it. structurally, he can never be allowed to heal (because a happy bruce wayne isn’t batman), which means he can’t really grow. his supporting cast can develop and grow in their own right, but they can’t leave (bc they’re batman characters), so they stay stuck in the same unhealthy dynamics with bruce. this creates a narrative paradigm where positive change rarely sticks, cycles aren’t broken, and the easiest story to tell is a tragedy. bruce isn’t allowed a happy ending, so nobody who loves him gets one either.

now compare this with green arrow, where ollie’s stories are so often about having the humility, courage, and determination to take accountability for your mistakes and change for the better. transformative change is his whole deal! it’s the point of the island! and his relationships with his supporting cast reflect this. ollie messes up, he learns from it, and his relationships with other characters develop and improve accordingly. the point of the story is that ollie changes, making change possible for everyone. and so green arrow books present a paradigm where characters are allowed to grow in ways that stick, where harm can be learned from instead of brushed aside, and where happy endings aren’t guaranteed but do largely feel possible. yk?

[dimonds456]

I'm mid-James apology and holy shit this is actually a GOOD apology?? MUCH better than the first one if nothing else.

Will update if anything dramatic happens.

Edit: check the notes and the replies. I had just woken up, this was the first thing I did lol. Yeah it was bad.

[lord-squiggletits]

Speaking of Tyrest. A lot of people forget that he treated Pharma with absolute disdain, not only using him as a test subject for a clearly painful mass murder machine, but talking to Pharma like he saw him as nothing but some henchman to order around that was nothing more than a 'diseased cripple' if Tyrest hadn't come to rescue him.

Like it really is an interesting background dynamic with some curious implications, but when you look at fandom posts from around that issue/the years after, for some reason people just saw "Pharma worked with Tyrest" and concluded Pharma is a card carrying bigot ksjfnskxkd. Like yeah Pharma didn't do anything to stop Tyrest but it seems his main beef with the Autobots was with Ratchet in particular and maybe a general disdain for his ex-comrades. As well as continuing to hate Decepticons which like, not even the "good Autobots" are immune to (even in Pharma's introduction, First Aid says in his journal something like "yeah we all hate Decepticons, but Pharma REALLY hates them"). And despite what fandom likes to construe there's really no evidence in IDW1 that Autobots and Decepticons are different "races" or "types" of Cybertronians, so Pharma hating Decepticons really isn't a bigotry/robot racism thing. And instead probably has something to do with, idk, the 4 million year long galaxy-spanning blood feud war, or maybe being blackmailed and tortured into insanity by the Biggest and Most Decepticon-y of Decepticons.

Tyrest treated Pharma like trash, the other Decepticons working for Tyrest (how come no one ever brings that up btw) also hated him, so if anything it seems that Pharma was more of a rogue element only staying with Tyrest bc he was his best option and probably had no way to even escape.

I'm glad that at least in recent years the fandom has acquired a keen reading eye and good taste to finally recognize Pharma as the (accidentally) complex character he is instead of making him some posh, racist Starscream clone SHSJDGSGDH

[itshaunting-pkmn]

HI!!!

HARI!! YOU HAVE THIS ARCFORSAKEN PLATFORM!?!? I DIDN’T THINK I’D SEE MY TRAINER’S ASSOCIATE HERE… -Chime from ??

who are you?? chime??? your trainer's associa...

THAT POKEMON CENTER BOY'S CHIMECHO?????

[starfish-spencer]

Hiii I’m here to ask about one, five, and twenty three of the psych ask game also I <3 psych and ur blog :)

Yay! Thank you so much for the ask, I love your blog, too! 💖🍍

What is your favorite Gus nickname?

How could I ever pick one? Gus T.T. Showbiz! The extra "T" is for extra talent! Honorable mentions go to "Nick Nack," "Mission Figs," and "Button."

5. Was Pierre Despereaux really an INTERPOL agent or was it all a con?

I love how the show never confirmed anything and left the viewers to decide for themselves! I like to think that Despereaux truly is one of the greatest criminals of all time, and that he conned INTERPOL for years into letting him steal more art. He probably wanted a challenge. I think his name really is Royston, though, because that's funny.

23. What other fictional universe would you like to see Psych crossover with?

I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I'm honestly a little disappointed that Psych never did a Lord of the Rings parody episode or crossover, cause it would work so well! Shawn and Gus really do have that Sam and Frodo queerplatonic relationship tbh. Gus could be the Tolkien nerd I know he is, Lassie could be the horse girl he was always meant to be, and they would all look SO GOOD with cute pointy ears. And the guest stars? Infinite options. Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, IAN MCKELLEN!! And THE OUTFITS!! The fantasy weapons!! JULES WITH A SWORD!!! I need this more than I need air

[undertheredhood]

from the tiny snippets i've been seeing of gotham war on tumblr, i don't think there's a way for jason and bruce's relationship to ever be okay again, especially not after what bruce did to jason

[majorproblems77]

Bonus links update! Which means it's analysis time! (Only slightly late haha)

Hi all!

I emerge from the void! Exams are a doozy man, but here i am, And i am ready to analyse the hell out of this update cause ohhh man stuff is happening and I'm loving it.

For the important stuff! All art belongs to @bonus-links and the artist @ezdotjpg. Please go and look at their other stuff too! And I once again thank you for letting me do these. Its awesome to be able to ramble about things like this.

Find the original comic here! go reblog it, please? For me? :D

It's so much fun!

Okay

Grab some popcorn and some water because we hydrate here. LETS GOOOOO

Slate taking pictures of all the plants and stuff is so sweet! I love them.

Shout out to the pig picture, it's so cuteeeeeee

The lil bug carrying his bag is giving me actual life okay i love him smsm

Just

Look at this little guy he is beloved, number 1 sidekick you can't stop me and my beetle propaganda

Speaking of little guys

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

MY LITTLE GUYYYYYY

HE IS SO PRETTY I LOVE HIM :D

And I love his little headband hello that's the sweetest lil thing? did he bring that with him? Did Aryll give him one to useee?

were you not expecting me to yell about loft in the first panel I could? Then you came to the wrong post friend! :DDDDDDDD

ANYYYYY WAY

These two defo need to talk about it at one point, maybe after the entire team is together? Having a divide like this (While 100% understandable, loft was kinda a dick about it) will impact things.

Makes me wonder how it's gonna work. Will someone snap some sense into them? Will someone get hurt because they were arguing?

We know they dont really get along too well so I feel like this is the beginning of a greater arc with these two.

Poor loft, he wants to make amends. Maybe try again in a bit? You'll get it.

This made me chuckle, when in doubt, wolf is there to assist.

Also, these two have no beef, do we know if Wake knows the wolf from his adventure? I cant actually remember if it was mentioned at all. It would explain why he's so willing to apologise to him and not Loft.

Aryll!

I love Aryll she is wonderful and deserves the world.

As peony should, because peony is wonderful

WAKE IS IN TROUBLE

Tetra's face gives me, as soon as you finish talking I am going to grab you and shake you like a bag of potatoes while asking you a million and one questions.

Small Aryll hiding like that gives so much little sister energy i love her so much okay.

aw

oh... OH

WHO IS THAT?

SLATE? Who is sheeee? A sister?

Alsoooo, She looks an awful lot like loft....

More on this in a minute cause I've got a whole thing.

Peony pulling them back from the memory, this is why i love her okay. She's wonderful.

Okay okay okay I am excited about this so hear me outtttttt

I have a theory

Loft reminds Slate of a family member. More specifically his sister.

Thats why they are so cold to him.

So, it's not just me right? There's a resemblance here. The way the hair falls and the colour.

ESPECIALLY WITH THE HEADBAND THAT LOFT HASNT WORN UNTIL NOW.

If Loft got given that headband by someone here as he was helping and now that Slate has seen him wearing it and also not he's had this memory it would explain why he looks to the side like that.

He's looking in the direction that Loft left the screen, perhaps looking for him...

The response from Slate might be a trauma response without them realising it. He's acting cold to Loft because he reminds him of a member of his family that he can't put a face too.

Just a thought of course.

Thats all from me! :D

Have a great day yeah?

(Again sorry this is a little later than normal, I've been head's deep in exam revision for weeks now haha.)

[keischreiber]

I want to eat ice cream with Reiner.